Mereka menerima sumbangan buku.

Yes, mereka is the standard Malay third-person plural pronoun, so it means they or them, depending on the role in the sentence.

In Mereka menerima sumbangan buku, mereka is the subject, so it means they.

A useful difference from English:

• mereka is clearly plural
• it is not used for he, she, or singular they

Also, in Malay, pronouns are often dropped if the context is clear, but using mereka makes the subject explicit.

Menerima means to receive or receive.

The base word is terima, but in a normal sentence Malay often uses the meN- verb form for active verbs. So:

• terima = base/root
• menerima = to receive / receives / received, depending on context

This is very common in Malay:

• baca → membaca = read
• tulis → menulis = write
• terima → menerima = receive

So menerima is the natural finite verb form in this sentence.

Yes. Malay verbs do not change form the way English verbs do for tense.

So menerima can mean:

• receive
• receives
• received
• sometimes even are receiving

The time is usually understood from context or shown with time words such as:

• semalam = yesterday
• sekarang = now
• esok = tomorrow
• sudah = already
• akan = will

So by itself, Mereka menerima sumbangan buku does not mark tense explicitly.

Sumbangan means contribution, donation, or aid/support, depending on context.

It comes from the root sumbang, but as a noun sumbangan commonly refers to something given. In this sentence, it means a donation.

So:

• menerima sumbangan = to receive a donation / donations

Because the next word is buku, the phrase becomes a donation of books or book donations.

This is because Malay usually puts the main noun first and the describing noun after it.

So:

• sumbangan buku = literally donation book
• natural English: book donation / donation of books

The first noun is the head:

• sumbangan = donation

The second noun tells you what kind:

• buku = books

This head-first pattern is very common in Malay:

• kedai buku = bookshop
• guru bahasa = language teacher
• rak kasut = shoe rack

So sumbangan buku is normal Malay noun order.

It can mean either, because Malay nouns usually do not change form for singular and plural.

So buku can mean:

• book
• books

In this sentence, the meaning is most naturally books, because sumbangan buku usually means a donation of books or book donations.

Malay often leaves number to context unless it needs to be emphasized.

One common way is reduplication:

• buku-buku = books

So you could say:

• Mereka menerima sumbangan buku-buku.

But in many cases, Malay does not need this if the meaning is already clear from context. In fact, using reduplication everywhere can sound less natural than English learners expect.

So buku by itself is often enough.

Malay generally does not use articles like English does.

So:

• sumbangan buku can mean a book donation, the book donation, or book donations, depending on context

Malay leaves this kind of information unstated unless it needs to be made clear.

If a speaker wants to be more specific, they may use other words, for example:

• itu = that / the
• ini = this
• sebuah = a / one (for certain countable objects)
• beberapa = several

But in a simple sentence like this, no article is needed.

Yes. The basic word order here is:

• Mereka = subject
• menerima = verb
• sumbangan buku = object

So it follows Subject–Verb–Object, just like standard English:

• They | received | a donation of books

This makes many simple Malay sentences feel familiar to English speakers.

Normally, sumbangan buku is most naturally understood as book donations or a donation of books.

If you want to say donations for books in the sense of money/support intended to buy books, Malay would usually make that relationship clearer, for example with:

• sumbangan untuk buku = donations for books

So in your sentence, the default reading is that the donated items are books.

In casual spoken Malay, people might sometimes use the shorter root form terima instead of menerima:

• Mereka terima sumbangan buku.

This is common in conversation, but menerima is more standard and better for formal writing and careful speech.

So:

• menerima = more standard/formal
• terima = more casual/spoken

A simple pronunciation guide is:

• menerima ≈ muh-nuh-REE-mah

Syllables:

• me-ne-ri-ma

A few helpful points:

• the e in me and ne is often a schwa-like sound, similar to the a in English about
• stress in Malay is usually not as strong or dramatic as in English
• Malay pronunciation is generally quite consistent compared with English spelling

Not if you mean a donation of books.

In this sentence, buku directly modifies sumbangan, so no preposition is needed:

• sumbangan buku = donation of books / book donation

If you add a preposition, you change the meaning:

• sumbangan daripada Ali = a donation from Ali
• sumbangan untuk sekolah = a donation for the school

So the original version is correct for the meaning They received a donation of books.